Question of the Day – Thursday February 8, 2018

Posted February 8, 2018

Question- What is furanyl fentanyl?

Answer- The cited article notes “Furanyl fentanyl (N-(1-(2-phenylethyl)-4-piperidinyl)-N-phenyl-furan- 2-carboxamide) is a fentanyl analog developed in 1986 with a potency comparable to fentanyl. There is no acceptable medical use for furanyl fentanyl and it was first identified in forensic cases in the United States in 2015 with over 100 confirmed fatalities in Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina and Ohio. Postmortem furanyl fentanyl concentrations have been reported with concentrations similar to that of fentanyl. (Swanson DM et al. (2017). “Fatalities involving carfentanil and furanyl fentanyl: Two case reports” J Analytical Tox 41(6):498-502)